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9.
Copyright: Mark Leslie 2007Software is a Great Business Making money in high-tech is all about getting paid for your IP The better (and more unique) the IP, the more valuable In the hardware business the IP is embodied and delivered in theform of a “machine” The business of making and shipping machines is error prone, whichcan sap the profit from the business In the software business you just deliver the IP – sometimes in theform of bits transmitted over the ether… At Veritas At the extreme delivered a $1.50 CD in exchange for $20 million Raised a total of $20 M including IPO, and ended with > 2.0 B in cash10

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Copyright: Mark Leslie 2007The More Grandiose the Plan,the Less Likely to Succeed Tolerant Systems, Go Computing, General Magic, WebVan andZaplet were “grand plans”… and so many others But many of the great companies started out with small goals andvery little capital, and became “overnight successes”…after many years Like HP, Dell, Apple, Oracle, Microsoft, Veritas, Ebay, Google,VMware… and so few others11

15.
Be a Steward, Not a Proprietor T H E F I R S T P R I N C I P L E of leadership Proprietorship is about “ME”…and what you can do for me today Stewardship is about “US”…and what we can build together for the futureCopyright: Mark Leslie 2007 16

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Copyright M. Leslie 17Be Visible, Be Invisible Be Visible There is a large part of leadership which is public (and mostly obvious) MBWA Many and varied public meetings Be exceptionally accessible Be Invisible The real work of leadership is behind the scenes, OFTEN ALONE Leadership is creating an environment where: You attract the best and the brightest people …who can independently apply their intellect judgment and energy …to advance the vision and goals of the organization …and achieve a personal sense of accomplishment in their work It is NOT “management”, which is accomplishing complex tasks throughothers.

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Copyright M. Leslie 18“Glamorous” is the Opposite ofLeadership Don’t get confused -- It is not about “ME” A Leader must always think of others and put them first You can be a comrade to your followers, but you can never beone of them When you are doing the “glamorous things”, you are just doingyour job on this teamWarning of Danger:GLAMOUR IS VERY SEDUCTIVE…

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Copyright M. Leslie 19If You Are Loyal to One, You AreLoyal to None A leader must be loyal to the mission above all else A leader is responsible for the well being of ALL of hispeople A leader is the keeper of fairness and equity in theorganization

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Copyright M. Leslie 20The Further You Are from a Problemthe Less You Know About It Trust those on the front lines – they really do know more than those“back home”. The first line manager knows less about the specifics, and THENEXT manager knows even less. When you get to the top you don’t really know anything aboutanything anymore! You trade situational knowledge for judgment, experience andperspective

20.
Copyright M. Leslie 21The Higher Up you Get, the FewerDecisions You Should Make Everyone “offers” you the decision What is the impact of the decision Have they thought about it? Are they, more or less, in the right quadrant? What is the downside? Allowing others to make decisions has real meaning to them, anddevelops their judgment and maturity

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Copyright M. Leslie 22The More Power You Give Away,the More You Have You empower individuals by giving them Knowledge; Authority; and, An acceptable margin of execution error “What I know that you don’t know makes me more powerful thanyou.” A leader has the power to level this playing field!!! And diminish politicization of the organization Empowered individuals will be loyal to the company and loyal to theleadership A loyal empowered workforce is a force multiplier for the leader

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Copyright M. Leslie 23Know Thyself We all want to know everything, and be best at everything It is a hallmark of great leaders that they know their own Strengths (the easy part) and Weaknesses (the hard part) Likes Dislikes Augment your weaknesses with other people’s strengths If possible find others to do the things you don’t like Check to see if your self-assessment is shared by others

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Copyright M. Leslie 24Trust and You Will Be Trusted The first level of trust is based on the “fair play” that is visiblyexercised Great leadership comes from a deep sense of trust between theleader and the led As a leader, you MUST take the first step, you must trust first! You may occasionally get disappointed, but the payoff is greater thanthe cost

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Copyright M. Leslie 25Listen to Everyone, but Trust yourOwn Judgment Each business is complex and unique There are no formulas, fads and gurus with quick and easy answers Be genuinely open, listen constructively and learn Hold your opinions in abeyance while you collect information – this iscounterintuitive to all we have learned. It is very hard to do! At the end of the day, trust your own judgment“If something does not seem to make sense……it most probably isn’t sensible”

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Copyright M. Leslie 26Confront the Issues Directly,But be Thoughtful, Gracious and Caring There are many tough things that you need to do Firing one of your executives who is a friend Negotiate hard deal Go after a competitor Reduce your work force But you can do all things with caring and grace Treat each and every person (and company) you meet with dignity andrespect And…, you never know when you will run into them again…

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Copyright M. Leslie 27The Truth, the Whole Truth, andNothing but the Truth… A key job of leaders is to “Fix Broken Stuff” If you do not know what is broken, you can’t fix it Everyone wants to tell you what they think you want to hear… … in a way that will make them look good… You must find a way to convince people that you need to know thetruth……and you must always “Honor the Messenger”

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Copyright M. Leslie 28There is Life after Death In the course of events there WILL BE black days…days so black that all you will see is despair Everyone will be looking at you! Communicate candidly and directly Be calm and show them a little bit of light at the end of the tunnel, butnot false hope Focus on the things that you can do to make a difference Overcoming adversity together forges teamwork and trust Dark days are “leadership opportunities” When things are great, remind people that there will be dark daysagain

28.
Only Those Who Are Both Paranoidand Courageous Will Survive Every Idea has a finite lifetime You never know where and how the world might change – it’s just amatter of time It is all about Strategic Transformation Do it early rather than late. You may have to put your whole company at risk in order to save it You need the courage to stay the course in spite of many who tell youotherwise It is the critical differentiator – it is what makesGreat Companies GreatCopyright M. Leslie 29

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Copyright M. Leslie 30There is No Finish Line… Building a great company is like building a cathedral Those who start it hopefully will not see its completion Each accomplishment is a prelude to the next challenge The IPO is not a “harvest”, simply one step on the longroad

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Copyright M. Leslie 31Values and Culture make itworthwhile We spend more time “at work” than any other single activity in our life The outcome of our efforts is not always predictable so the quality ofthe daily experience is important Values and culture define the character of the company Values and culture permit us to do our work with integrity, and toconduct business in a civilized and honest environment Values and culture help the organization to recruit the best, thebrightest, and the principled Values and culture do NOT sap the competitive capability

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Copyright M. Leslie 32We All Have to Make Choices Each time we make a decision, we leave a “road untaken” – we cannever know what “could have been…” Success in anything requires: COMMITMENT FOCUS INTENSITY ENDURANCE Whatever success we achieve, we will by definition sacrifice otherdimensions of life’s opportunities